Switch user windows 10

IT HASN'T been a good time to be Microsoft in recent weeks. Not only did the original release of its latest version of Windows 10 have to be withdrawn after it was found to be chewing up users' files, but ever since more showstopping bugs have been appearing every few days or so. But this is a biggie. Users are now complaining that they are being forced to downgrade machines running Windows 10 Pro to the lesser Windows 10 Home edition. And they're not happy. The problem stems from Microsoft's anti-piracy system which now resides in a mixture of a hardware-based solution tied to individual machines, and tying the serial numbers to a Microsoft account. It works, mostly. What's weird is that nobody is quite sure why it stopped working. Reddit users seem to suggest that the issue is mostly affecting ex-Insiders and people who upgraded from Windows 8 Pro, but that's a trend rather than a rule; most users are unaffected. Tom's Hardware reports that one user has claimed that they weren't even … [Read more...] about Microsoft glitch is downgrading users’ Windows 10 Pro licenses

Although Microsoft has made it easier to switch off Windows 10 S mode on a device running Windows 10 Home or Pro, there is no easy way to switch S mode on. The only way to do it right now is to either buy a device with Windows 10 S mode enabled out of box, or create new installation media that has the S mode switch enabled. There's no in-OS switch to enable S mode. All of the Windows 10 S devices you can buy right now This seems like an oversight, as Microsoft's decision to turn Windows 10 S into a mode was fueled by complaints that Windows 10 S should have been an option that the user can configure with ease. That's what Microsoft allowed when it turned Windows 10 S into a mode, but only with a way to switch it off. In other words, a device that comes with Windows 10 S can switch out of S mode with a simple click of a button, but it can't go back without recovering the entire OS. Turning on Windows 10 S mode with the flip of a switch Starting with Redstone 5, it appears Microsoft is … [Read more...] about Microsoft may soon let all PC users easily switch to Windows 10 S mode

On Tuesday, we told you that Microsoft was planning on testing Windows 10 with power users sporting the Android powered Xiaomi Mi 4. Xiaomi is assisting Microsoft with the tests although it stresses that it is not partnering with Microsoft. Further details about the testing reveal that the version of Windows 10 being used will override the Android OS that comes out of the box with the Mi 4. The end result with the testing is a Windows 10 flavored Xiaomi Mi 4 that features all of Microsoft's mobile services. Consider this a simple customization of an Android device with the Xiaomi Mi 4 user opting to install a ROM containing Windows 10 instead of Cyanogen, for example. This ROM allows the Android user to have close to a native Windows 10 experience on his phone, which Microsoft hopes will be so positive that the Android user switches to Windows 10.Xiaomi's handset is just the first being tested. Eventually, Microsoft hopes to have similar ROMs available for other Android phones down the … [Read more...] about Microsoft plans on turning Android handsets into Windows 10 phones using custom ROMs

Microsoft is switching its approach to Windows 10 S, its new version of Windows that’s designed to compete with Chrome OS. The software giant originally announced Windows 10 S as a dedicated version of Windows for education customers that’s restricted to running Microsoft Store apps. Neowin first spotted that Microsoft is planning a new “S Mode” for Windows 10 Home, Enterprise, and Pro. This S Mode will essentially lock down any copy of Windows 10 so it can only run apps from the Microsoft Store, and does exactly what the dedicated Windows 10 S operating system was built to do. Thurrott reports that 60 percent of Windows 10 S users have remained on the operating system, instead of switching to Windows 10 Pro free of charge. 60 percent of those who do switch reportedly do so within the first 24 hours of owning a Windows 10 S device, and if they don’t switch in a week then 83 percent stick with 10 S. While it’s surprising that Windows users are happy … [Read more...] about Microsoft ditches Windows 10 S in favor of new ‘S Mode’

I feel like I always start a Surface review the same way, so here goes: I’ve always wanted Microsoft to build a laptop. A couple of years ago, Microsoft nearly did that with the Surface Book but it wasn’t enough. The Surface Book was top heavy, chunky, and it had a removable screen that I rarely detached. Like many Surface devices, it was different for the sake of being different, but it wasn’t the ultimate laptop that Microsoft claimed it would be. Microsoft has now finally created the laptop I’ve been waiting for, and it’s simply called the Surface Laptop. The Laptop has virtually everything a working person could ask for, yet strangely, Microsoft has bundled the Surface Laptop with Windows 10 S, a new, slightly crippled version of Windows 10 that only supports apps from the Windows Store. It can’t run any apps downloaded from a website that a pro user might want, such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Steam, or VLC. Microsoft knows there aren’t … [Read more...] about Microsoft Surface Laptop with Windows 10 Pro review